Book Reviews : Introduction to Municipal Government and Administration. By ARTHUR W. BROMAGE. (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. 1950. Pp. x, 693. $5.00.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591295000300431
• Date: 01 December 1950
• Published date: 01 December 1950
• Author: Jonathan R. Cunningham
• Subject Matter: Articles

650

Introduction

to

Municipal

Government

and

Administration.

By

ARTHUR

W.

BROMAGE.

(New

York:

Appleton-Century-Crofts,

Inc.

1950.

Pp.

x,

693.

$5.00.)

It

appears

unfortunate

that

greater

interest

in

city

government

has

not

been

manifest

both

on

the

part

of

the

general

college

student

and

the

teachers

of

political

science.

More

people

in

the

United

States

live

in

urban

communities

than

in

rural

areas,

and

no

level

of

government

offers

greater

opportunity

for

direct

citizen

participation.

Good

textbooks

can

accomplish

much

in

the

way

of

dispelling

the

attitude

that

such

a

subject

is

uninteresting

or

unimportant.

Professor

Bromage

has

written

an

unusually

readable

textbook

which

should

incite

the

interest

and

stimulate

the

imagination

of

the

under-

graduate

student

for

whom

it is

intended.

The

subject

matter

is

well

organized

and

placed

in

fine

perspective.

The

ease

with

which

the

tran-

sition

is

made

from

one

chapter

to

another

is

likewise

impressive.

In

the

first

300

pages

the

author

focuses

attention

to

the

environment

in

which

city

government

exists

and

operates.

These

chapters

deal

with

the

history,

growth,

functions,

economics

and

social

characteristics,

and

intergovernmental

relations.

The

electoral

and

political

processes

are

also

discussed

here

before

presentation

of

material

on

form,

organization

and

administration.

The

author

has

drawn

skillfully

from

his

extensive

knowl-

edge

of

practice

in

numerous

cities

and

his

familiarity

with

literature

in

a

manner

which

gives

life

to

the

chapters

on

structure

and

administration.

The

subject

matter

is

current,

the

influence

of

World

War

II

and

the

postwar

trends

being

fully

treated

as

an

integral

part.

The

chapter

on

city

planning

and

zoning,

an

activity

of

increasing

importance

but

f re-

quently

glossed

over,

is

adequate.

The

direct

working

relationship

between

the

planning

department

or

commission

and

the

Public

Works

Admin-

istration

is

referred

to

in

the

chapters

on

public

works

and

public

utilities,

a

relationship

many

texts

fail

to

note.

The

concluding

chapter

is

con-

cerned

with

legal

departments

and

municipal

courts.

JONATHAN

R.

CUNNINGHAM.

Whitman

College.

Policy

and

Administration.

By

PAUL

H.

APPLEBY.

(University,

Alabama:

University

of

Alabama

Press.

1949.

Pp.

173.

$2.50.)

The

dean

of

the

Maxwell

School

discusses

in

lectures

at

Alabama

the

intermixture

of

policy

making

and

administration

which

he

finds

to

be

characteristic

of

the

American

federal

government.

All

decisions

of

this

policy

administrative

mixture

are

made

&dquo;subject

to

political

deter-

mination

and

arrived

at

in

a

political

environment.&dquo;

The

administrative